Agnon Archives

Archives of Courses on S.Y. Agnon and Accompanying Resources

These courses were delivered live at Jerusalem’s Agnon House and broadcast on WebYeshiva.org by Rabbi Jeffrey Saks. These archives provide video recordings, audio-only (MP3) recordings, and downloadable links to the primary and secondary sources and course materials. Each session generally runs 75-90 minutes.Contact Rabbi Saks at ATID for more information on the courses, or to discuss ways the materials can be used in your classrooms, synagogues, or reading groups.

Midrash Agnon5 sessions on various short stories: “The Kerchief”, “The Sign” and others.

Days of Awe2 sessions on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, plus exploring what Agnon was doing with his anthology Days of Awe.Click here for archives.

Nostalgia and Nightmare8 sessions exploring and contrasting the themes of Agnon’s nostalgic presentation of the old world, with modern stories that depict the shock of the modern. Includes: “The Tale of the Scribe”, selections from the Kafkaesque series Sefer HaMa’asim, and other stories.Click here for archives.

In the Heart of the Seas3 sessions covering the novella Bilvav Yamim(In the Heart of the Seas), a midrashically lyrical weaving of history and mystery into a legend of love for the Land of Israel as a group sets out from 19th century Buczacz on Aliya, accompanied by a mysterious and miraculous man of spirit.Click here for archives.

TehillaRighteousness, repentance, redemption, reward and punishment – all explored in a 3-part series on Agnon’s beloved story Tehilla, set in the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1920s.Click here for archives.

Agnon’s Novels4 sessions, each giving an overview to Agnon’s longer novels – A Simple Story, The Bridal Canopy, A Guest for the Night, and Only Yesterday.Click here for archives.

In the Prime of Her Life
3 sessions on S.Y. Agnon’s novella “In the Prime of Her Life” (Bidmei Yameha) – a tale of love lost and found, and the profound way the older generation shapes the life of its children, as told through the perspective of a young female narrator.Click here for archives.

Agnon’s Hometown
5 sessions on stories of the Old World and Agnon’s ancestral Buczacz as depicted in his ‘Ir uMelo’ah.Click here for archives.

A-Ag-Agn-Agno-Agnon and Rebbe Nachman
6 sessions on connection between the Nobel laureate and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, along with other important influences on Agnon’s writing.Click here for archives.

Two Scholars Who Were in Our Town
4-sessions on Agnon’s tragic tale of the clash of Talmudic titans.Click here for archives.

The Dramatized Ego

A careful reading of 5 different short stories, exploring the complex
connections between Agnon the man, the author, and the narrator he
created.Click here for archives.

Contact WebYeshiva.org Tech Support for any help needed in accessing the materials: support@webyeshiva.org or 1-646-977-7978 (US) or 073-796-2230 (Israel).